- Compiled by Betty Jane Wilson, Valley Falls Historical Society President
"Thurman Walker not heard from since Aug. 17" headlined the Farmer's Vindicator Friday, Oct. 30, 1908. The Harmon Publishing Co. (Valley Falls).
Part I
"Thurman Walker, son of Mrs. Jessie Walker, left here in the spring and went to Bisbee, Ariz., to work in a copper mill, but afterwards returned to Colorado, near Rocky Ford. Last August, he and another young man started off together, the other young man telling his stepfather he and Thurman were going on a fishing trip. But, Thurman told relatives with whom he was stopping and wrote home to folks here, that he was going with this young man to Wyoming, and told from what town he would write the next week. But, nothing has been heard from him since. This was Aug. 17.
"In a few weeks after leaving, the other young man returned to Rocky Ford with Thurman's saddle, bridle, and every day clothes and told that Thurman's horse had got sick and he had stopped an an irrigating plant to work. But, inquiry at this place shows he has never been there. After being faced with this denial, the young man has told several stories about the matter including how he came to be in possession of so much of Thurman's property.
"It is sincerely hoped that this is a false alarm and that Thurman is alive and well, but the fact that he has written home every week since he has been away, up to the time of leaving Rocky Ford on the 17th of August and no word being received from him since, makes the stories of his companion very suspicious.
"Walker, who had been writing to his mother regularly, was not heard from, and inquiries were established by his family, but, to no avail. The mother finally became frantic and large sums of money were expended in following up on clues that might lead to his whereabouts. "According to the brother of the missing boy, his mother finally had a vision. She saw him lying dead on the prairie and, so strong was her belief in the dreams, that the efforts of the family were directed toward securing the identity of all unclaimed bodies that had been found in the vicinity where he was known to have been. It was the vision and the subsequent inquiries that finally led to his identification.
"According to information local officers secured, both young fellows were employed on the Beatty Ranch near Manzonia, Colo. Walker is said to have made several statements to the effect that he didn't have to work and it is known that the family is in excellent circumstances and he would have inherited a small fortune on his 21st birthday.
"It was thought about the ranch that he carried some money on his person and that contributed to his disappearance. Nunn (his companion) is said to have told Walker of a ranch he owned near Cheyenne, Wyo., and promises of a large salary 'riding fences' induced the young Kansan to undertake the trip to Cheyenne."
In Part II
A decomposed body is found in the bed of an Arkansas River near Nepesta, Colo. Edwin L. Walker, brother of Thurman, joins sheriff's investigation.
The society museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 16.
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